Influence Of Later Relationships Flashcards
(23 cards)
What did Bowlby say is important in early attachment that could affect later relationships?
Internal working model
What is the internal working model?
Our mental representations of our relationships with PAF, which acts as a template for future relationships
What did Kerns say attachment type is associated with?
Quality of peer relationships in childhood
What do securely attached babies go on to form in childhood?
Best quality childhood friendships ( Kerns)
What do insecure- resistant babies struggle with in childhood?
difficulties in friendship (Kerns)
What did Wilson and Smith assess?
Attachment type and bullying involvement
How did Wilson and Peter Smith assess attachment type and bullying?
Used standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 from London
What did Wilson and Peter Smith find about secure children?
Very unlikely to be involved in bullying
What did Wilson and Smith find about insecure-avoidant children?
more likely to be the victims of bullying
What did Wilson and Smith find about insecure-resistant children?
They were more likely to be the bullies
What two major experiences do the IWM affect?
- Romantic relationships
- parental relationships with own children
Who did McCarthy (1999) study?
40 adult women
When did McCarthy assess the 40 adult women and why?
assessed when they were babies to establish their early attachment type
What did McCarthy find about those assessed as securely attached babies?
Best adult friendships and romantic relationships
What did McCarthy find about those assessed as insecure-resistant babies?
They had problems maintaining friendships
What did McCarthy find about those assessed as insecure-avoidant babies?
These babies struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships.
What study showed the affect of IWM on childs ability to parent own children?
Bailey et al 2007:
- Mothers with poor attachment to their own mothers were more likely to have poorly attached babies.
Harlow:
- Monkeys showed a link between poor attachment and later difficulties with parenting.
What research is there to support influence of early attachment on later relationships?
Hazan and Shaver (1987) Love Quiz
• conducted a study of the association between attachment and adult relationships.
- was developed to test the internal working model.
- They placed a Love Quiz in an American small town publication, there were 620 responses (205 men, 415 women)
What were the findings from the research is there to support influence of early attachment on later relationships?
LQ
- 56% secure = and most likely to have good, long-lasting
relationships
- 25% insecure-avoidant = show jealousy and fear of intimacy
- 19% insecure-resistant = fear of abandonment
Conclusion: positive correlation between early childhood experiences and later love experiences
What research is there to support influence of early attachment on later relationships?
- research to support
- supporting evidence into attachment and later relationships
- Fearon and Roisman (2017) found that early attachment consistently predicts later relationships
- Secure attachments = advantages for future development
- Insecure-avoidant = fairly mild disadvantages
- Disorganised = strongly associated with later mental disorder.
- Supports internal working model
What is the counterpoint for research supporting influence of early attachment on later relationships?
- Not all evidence supports internal working model
- Becker-Stoll et al’s (2008) longitudinal study followed 43 participants from 1 years old.
- At age 16, there was no evidence of continuity.
- Shows that early attachment does not necessarily predict later development – might be other factors
What is the limitation that research into the influence of early attachment is assessed retrospectively?
- most research assess attachment retrospectively
- Most research is not longitudinal
-Instead, p’s are asked about their past relationships - This causes two validity problems:
1. Asking questions relies on the honesty and accurate perception of p’s
2. Hard to know whether what is being assessed is early attachment or in fact adult attachment - This is a confounding variable – making the studies meaningless and reducing internal validity.
What is another limitation of research into the influence of early attachment on later development to do with variables?
- existence of confounding variables.
- Attachment quality and later development may be affected
by confounding variables. - eg parenting style or genetically-influenced personality may be an influence
- This means that we can never be entirely sure that it is early
attachment and not some other factor that is influencing later
development.
